Around Here

Count down to baby continues. Just a couple weeks left and I'm trying to tie up projects at work and get "ready" for baby's arrival. At home, the baby room is ready, baby's bag is packed, and my bag is empty but sitting on the floor with a pile of things around it, ready to be filled.

Meanwhile, I've been keeping busy battling weeds in the yard, keeping the new trees thriving in the heat, and taking care of a couple of new additions.


They are meant to help with the weed problem, but they are only 3 months old so their appetites aren't quite up to the volume of the job. They are twin nubians, and very sweet little girls. I would like to keep them for milkers, but this is my first goat experience so I'll just wait and see how goats and I get along. Their names are Willa (on the left) and Milly (right) after my two favorite female authors, Willa Cather and Mildred Walker. A goat needs a good name.

The garden is coming along despite the late planting date. I'm looking forward to green beans, peas, tomatoes, etc., etc. Today I used my first garden produce in the kitchen - basil leaves in a pasta salad, and red leaf lettuce in a turkey/avacado sandwich. Yum!

The yard is very obviously in it's beginning stages, but it is coming along very well and we are spending a lot of time outside enjoying it. On July 4th I hosted family and friends for a backyard BBQ, bocce, horseshoes, etc. It was the first "event" for our yard and it was fun to share it with friends. The heat let up and it was a beautiful day full of food and conversation. The kids, dogs, and goats exhausted each other, and it was a great day all around.

Miscellaneous News

I called in pregnant to work today so am at home having a day for myself and relaxing a bit, which means I have time for a blog post. It will have no theme, so pardon the collage of unrelated bits.

First, a happy photo that Casey took in our front yard the other day--our pot of gold:

With hubby back in the swing of the wildfire season, 'tis the season to fill my days with company and visiting and catching up with friends. A girlfriend and her two little boys spent 4 days here last week. Hard to say who enjoyed the company more - Katie, or me! At least I know she'll love having a little boy to play with when ours is old enough to toddle around. I enjoyed the visiting as well as having a 2-year-old assistant in the garden.

More company to come this week when Littlest Sis arrives for a few days in town for a friends' wedding. Looking forward to a visit with her!

In other news, I was spoiled to bits again at a baby shower hosted by wonderful Aunt Bon last week. What a blessing to have such family and friends! One very important friend was missing though, having just delivered a baby the day before, and another friend barely made it - she went into labor 3 days later! I swear that gestation is not required to be my friend...it only seems like it lately! Many thanks to everyone who attended. Baby Eager is a lucky fellow to be so "showered" with gifts already!

In other news, we have a skunk. Yuck. It is a baby, thank goodness, which means his scent is not mature yet. This is lucky, because Katie hasn't yet learned that skunks are to be avoided and tried to make friends. She came away with a stinging eye and a light perfume which is (thankfully) already gone today. I'm planning to encourage the skunk to find a new home before he reaches his full aromatic potential.

Junior

I am now 32 weeks and 4 days pregnant...alarmingly close to motherhood! It is exciting and scary at the same time, but I'm not in any rush to hit the 40 week mark yet. There is a lot to be done to get ready for Junior (nope, no name yet).

This weekend some wonderful friends from church hosted a baby shower. We all (nearly 40 of us) enjoyed scrumptious cake with strawberries and whipped cream, good company and "oooh-ing" over little boy outfits and baby gear. I was spoiled! Last night, kept awake by this new and unwelcome phenomenon, heartburn, I stayed up late organizing the baby room and sorting through new and used items that have come my way from so many generous friends. Here is a glimpse of the organization in progress, and a belly picture from today (shared somewhat reluctantly).

Good-bye Sweets

I'm saying a sad farewell to goodies. It's now official, after 2 rounds of testing, that I have gestational diabetes and will need to make a few changes to control it properly.

This (hopefully) isn't going to be a huge deal, because I've been making it a habit to eat frequently, consume a lot of whole grains and proteins, and generally try to have very balanced eating habits. Still, it will mean that the occasional indulgence in very generous slices of home-made pie at the truckstop down the road should probably be avoided for the next two-and-a-half months! I'm looking forward to meeting with a dietician and nurse very soon to learn all I need to know so I can keep baby and me as healthy and happy as possible.

I'm just praying that I'm not one of the few who decides to hold onto this dear affliction after giving birth! The longing for a nice dark beer and a lovely piece of sour cream lemon pie (although not together) could become an obsession soon!

Playing in the Dirt

There may be no other day of the year that is as eagerly anticipated as branding day - at least for me! It's an event for the whole family - from the toddlers to great grandma. There is a lot of dust, a little cursing, and it finishes up with a great potluck spread.


It may not be as much fun for the mamas and babies, briefly separated here while the doctoring and other shennanigans go on in the calf pen. It's a noisy day as they talk back and forth to each other across the fence.

My husband, the baby of the family and the one with the fewest injuries (currently), is the chief calf wrestler. This year his pants remained intact. Not so last year when I had to sew his jeans back together using twine and a few holes poked with a pocket knife. Now that's sewing I can handle!

Katie is awfully interested in the cows, but doesn't quite have a handle on when to work them and when to leave them alone. Here a horse lead rope has found a new use as a dog leash to help her remember to stay nearby until she hears "OK". We've got some work to do later, but she's just a pup for now.

The main dish at the end of the day is - what else - steaks on the grill.